Monday, January 16, 2012

Meet author Cynthia Woolf

Leave a comment for our guest today along with your e-mail address and you will have a chance to win a free copy of the book featured on this blog.

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news!!Hugs - Mimi

The
first two books in the series are the adventures of twin sisters from the
planet Centauri, one turns out to be the queen while the other was raised as a
slave after being kidnapped. The third book in the series is the story of two
of their friends who find they are the perfect match for each other.

Yes,
I'm still giving away a book. This is what you can say.

Please
leave a comment. One lucky commenter will win a copy of Cynthia's book CENTAURI
TWILIGHT, Book 2 in the Centauri series. If the winner is in the US the book
will be a paperback. International commenter's will receive an ebook, if they
should be chosen.

What
advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

I think you should go for it.But make sure you do it right.Get a good cover, get an editor or at least
have someone who can edit well read it for you.I read each of my books through 3 times before I give it in full to my
critique partners for beta reading.I
also have other beta readers who read it before it gets published.

Do
you have critique partners?

I have the most amazing critique
partners.They each have their strengths
and the are all incredibly talented writers.All but one is currently published and that person will publish by the
end of January.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

I love anything with chocolate, but my
favorite dessert is carrot cake.My
mother made the most amazing carrot cake with real cream cheese icing.It was to die for.

How
likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

It’s not really very likely unless they
have something that makes them stand out from the crowd.Some character trait that I can see when I
meet them.

What
is most difficult for you to write?Characters, conflict or emotions?Why?

The hardest for me to write is
conflict.I avoid conflict in my real
like as though it was the plague.So I
tend to try and do that with my characters as well.Thank goodness for my critique group who are like
an enforcer and make me put in the conflict the story needs.

Was
your road to publication fraught with peril or a walk in the park?

Well it definitely wasn’t a walk in the
park.I’ve been writing seriously, with
the goal of publication since 1990.It’s
been a long hard process, that culminated with me publishing my books on my
own.So I’d have to say it was fraught
with peril.

BIO

Cynthia Woolf was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in the
mountains west of Golden. She spent her early years running wild around
the mountain side with her friends.

Their closest neighbor was one quarter of a mile away, so her little brother
was her playmate and her best friend. That fierce friendship lasted until
his death in 2006.

Cynthia was and is an avid reader. Her mother was a librarian and brought
new books home each week. This is where young Cynthia first got the
storytelling bug. She wrote her first story at the age of ten. A
romance about a little boy she liked at the time.

She worked her way through college and went to work full time straight after
graduation and there was little time to write. Then in 1990 she and two
friends started a round robin writing a story about pirates. She found
that she missed the writing and kept on with other stories. In 1992 she
joined Colorado Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.
Unfortunately, the loss of her job demanded the she not renew her memberships
and her writing stagnated for many years.

In 2000, she saw an ad in the paper for a writers conference being put on by
CRW and decided she'd attend. One of her favorite authors, Catherine
Coulter, was the keynote speaker. Cynthia was lucky enough to have a seat
at Ms. Coulter's table at the luncheon and after talking with her, decided she needed
to get back to her writing. She rejoined both CRW and RWA that day and
hasn't looked back.

Cynthia credits her wonderfully supportive husband Jim and the great friends
she's made at CRW for saving her sanity and allowing her to explore her
creativity.

TAME A WILD HEART from Amazon
http://amzn.to/uEoTO0

CENTAURI DAWN from Amazon
http://amzn.to/uwGgHo

CENTAURI TWILIGHT from Amazon
http://amzn.to/t3Um6q

EXCERPT
FROM CENTAURI MIDNIGHT

“Audra, please.You’re my queen but you’re also my
friend.You must grant me this last
request.Let me go after him.”Tensign Kiti Dolana paced the beautiful
sitting room.Bile rose in her throat
threatened to strangle her.Finally, she
collapsed into a chair it’s soft cushions swallowing her as she sat across the
small, highly polished and gleaming, coffee table from the Queen of Centauri,
her friend.

The Queen, pregnant with triplets, her
beautifully distended tummy disallowing much frivolous movement, reclined on
the couch.She sat up to pour the tea
but had trouble reaching the tea pot in the middle of the coffee table.“Kiti would you pour our tea, I’m a bit like
a beached whale right now.”Audra was
anything but a beached whale.Kiti knew
the colloquial term from her study of Earth.

Her queen was radiant.Her long, chestnut hair falling in waves to
her waist was gathered on one side of her head.Her clear gray eyes shone brightin her pale face.She wore a
beautiful royal purple empire waisted dress that highlighted her pale features.She was beautiful.Kiti remembered a time, on their way back to
Centauri from Earth, when she’d not thought so, because she was jealous.

That was before Audra’s marriage to
Darius and when she’d still be betrothed to Anton.Kiti had been in love with Anton, at least
she thought she was, and was jealous of Audra.Some of the things she said were unkind, but Audra had seen them for
what they were, jealousy and forgiven her the words.They were now the best of friends.

Kiti poured the tea and continued to
beseech her queen.“Audra, you have to
let me go after him.He killed my
brother Joridan, his actions led to Anton being captured and tortured.I need to see they get justice, they deserve
it.”

“And you are sure it is only justice you
seek?” Audra softly asked.

“Damn it, Audra.”Kiti was up and pacing the room again.Her long black hair was tied in a high pony
tail and swung back and forth with each step she took.The thick, plush carpet kept her boots from
clicking on the floor.“I’m begging you
to let me go with Garrick Marcus.It’s
not just revenge I need.I need
closure.I’m the one who should deliver
Tybold to the authorities.Garrick
Marcus is the best captain in the fleet and I know Darius is sending him after
Tybold.Joridan needs us both to avenge
his death.To bring his murderer back to
Centauri for justice to be served.”

“Kiti, are you combat trained?We don’t know what to expect from the
Proconians.By this time, Tybold could
have convinced them we are conquerors and he’s their only salvation.We don’t know.It could be a suicide mission.I don’t want to lose my best friend.”She went on.“I know you’re grieving.Joridan’s loss and Lara’s return has been very hard on you.”

“Stop.”Kiti jumped up and started to pace again.“I know what my life has been like.I mourn the loss of Joridan life and Anton’s
capture and torture by Slavarien.Joridan was my little brother.Even though he was a head taller than me he will always be my little
brother.I still smell Joridan’s scent
in his room.Sometimes it’s so fresh
it’s like he just passed by.”Her eyes
filled with tears, “I miss the closeness that Anton and I once shared but I do
not bemoan him finding Lara.I’m very
happy he found his lifemate.It was
something he never thought to be able to do.After the torture that both Anton and Lara suffered at the hands of the
Slavariens, it’s amazing that they found each other.I wish I had a lifemate out there somewhere.

“Audra, I’m a historian and
anthropologist, but first I’m Dragonera.Of course, I am combat trained.All Dragonera are.We are the
Royal Guard.We are the best.”

“Yes.You’re right, but I worry anyway.Must be my maternal instinct.”Audra patted her belly.

“You know that the people of Procon are
centuries behind us technologically.I’m
the only person who can go on this mission that knows anything about their
culture.”

“I don’t know,” Audra hesitated.

“Admit it.Garrick needs me.”

“We don’t interfere in the development of
other planets’ civilizations.You know
that.”

“Tybold has already interfered.I say we’ll be evening the odds for the
tribes involved.And it’s not as though
Procon doesn’t know we exist.They
already trade with other planets.Just
because they’re not our technological equals doesn’t mean they aren’t
advanced.”

Kiti saw Audra hesitate before she
answered.“I must confer with Darius
before I can give you my answer.”

At that moment Darius came in accompanied
by Garrick, Anton and Lara.The three
men were in their Dragonera uniforms as was Kiti.The only differences being the color
blocking.Darius and Garrick wore
amethyst uniforms with cream colored sleeves, denoting their status as starship
Captains.Darius’ uniform also had a
cream colored stripe from the left shoulder to the waist, denoting that he was
Captain of the Royal Guard.As a general
in the Royal Army, Anton’s uniform was solid amethyst.Lara, Audra’s twin sister, still had the
tanned skin from someone who’s spent too much time in the sun.She wore the House of Danexx royal colors
like everyone else did.Hers were an
amethyst jumpsuit and long cream colored duster.Kiti’s uniform was solid cream.Her rank as Tensign was denoted by a patch on
her left arm.

“What do you need to discuss with me?” Darius
asked as he took his wife’s arm and helped her to rise from the couch.She gave him a quick kiss.Darius rubbed her stomach then bent and said,
“Hello, my children.Are you being nice
to your mommy today?”

Kiti swore he expected an answer.

“If you don’t quit that people are going
to think you’re crazy,” said Audra.

Darius laughed and kissed her belly.

“I am. Crazy in love with my wife.”

Lara made gagging sounds.‘Will you two remember that you have an
audience?”

“All right.But you and Anton are just as bad as we are.”
Darius said to his soon to be twice over sister-in-law.”

“Never,” retorted Lara.“No one is as over the moons as you two.

“I don’t know, I’m pretty much over the
moons about you,” said Anton waggling his eyebrows at her.

The banter was not aimed at Kiti.She didn’t think the two couples even
remembered they were not alone.Kiti
glanced at Garrick, who rolled his eyes at her.“Audra, the mission.”She reminded her queen tapping her wrist to
hurry her.

“Oh yes.Darius, Kiti has requested to be assigned to go with Garrick to Procon,
to apprehend Lord Tybold.I told her I
would discuss it with you.”

“I don’t know if she will be
needed,”Darius responded.

Garrick spoke for the first time since
entering the room.“I think an
anthropologist would be very useful on this particular mission.Tensign Dolana would be a definite asset to
me in bringing in Tybold.”

“Thank you, Garrick. “Kiti was warmed by his words and agreed with
him one hundred percent.To her way of
thinking, this mission would only succeed with her help.No one could understand the Proconians better
than she could.

“Very well,” said Darius.“You will receive your orders tomorrow.In the mean time, can we eat dinner?I’m a starving man.”

Hi Mimi, great site, terrific design. Hello Cynthia, the concept of the two sisters, a queen and a slave is an interesting premise. Out of curiosity, if the kidnapping had not occurred and the twins grew up together, which one would have ruled, the now queen or the now slave, or would they have ruled jointly?And well done on getting back to writing and then going on to publish.

Interesting excerpt, Cynthia...wish I knew more about the characters and where they've been - obviously they can't be identical twins, right? Isn't it a bond how many of us who write, started out as avid readers. Best wishes for success of this book in your series.

Thank you for featuring Cynthia as your guest blog post. "Beautifully distended belly" is quite a description of a woman pregnant with triplets. Growing up in rural New Mexico and having my family roots from Colorado, I can picture Cynthia's writing spirit gaining inspiration from her surroundings. Sometimes, to me, the story of the author themselves is as intriguing as the book they've written. Great cover for the book. Good luck to Cynthia on her writing adventures.